Speechless
by amillionsmiles
Summary: Ian Kabra has always known what to say.  But when Amy collides with him on a search for Dan, he finds that sometimes, words are unnecessary.  One-shot.


**Okay, so, after reading your guys' reviews, I thought that I should try to make it better. I don't know if I succeeded, but you tell me. Since most of you had problems with the tenses, I just went and made everything past tense, and I _tried_ to make Ian more in character...but that was kinda hard! :P Tell me if it worked, though. I mean, if at first you don't succeed, try, try again, right? **

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He always knew what to say. It came with being a Kabra: perfect poise and good grammar. So when she tumbled into him, nearly tackling him and sending them both to the ground, he assessed everything.

He took in her windswept hair, her flushed cheeks, her eyes full of anxiety, and managed to come up with, "What are _you_ doing here?"

She always had a stutter. It surfaced at the worst moments, the times when she most needed to sound strong and confident. Around him, it only got worse. She couldn't account for why her mouth seemed to forget how to speak every time she encountered him. His olive skin and amber eyes had an unnerving effect on her.

"D-Dan…running…your m-mom," she stammered, groping wildly for the words that wouldn't come out. Suddenly, she was angry, because his mom was part of this and he probably was, too. Her eyes narrowed and she struggled to stand up and back away. Fury forced her to become coherent: "Your mom threatened Dan and me. She tried to force us to tell her where we thought the next clue was hidden, but we wouldn't tell. Since we wouldn't cooperate, she tried to kidnap us, but we got away. Then I lost Dan." Her voice broke. "You probably know where he is. I'll bet you were in on the scheme, too," she continued.

He withdrew from the accusation. "I'll have you know, Natalie and my mother ditched me because of my 'incapability at being ruthless.' I have no idea where your little brother is," he informed, glaring back at her. She yanked her arm out of his grasp and folded her arms across her chest.

"Oh, because you've been _so_ honest with me before," she said sarcastically. She was getting bolder, less afraid.

"Why don't we have a clean start?" Ian proposed, putting as much silkiness into his voice as he could.

"How about..._no,_" Amy shot back.

"What do you want from me, Amy, dear?" Ian tried. "You know I never meant to hurt you. I was just obeying my parents," he crooned.

"We both know you're lying, Ian." Amy was unnerved by his silky voice, but she refused to show it.

"I'm hurt, Amy. Don't you trust me?" Ian moved closer, sugar-coating his words. Amy considered pushing him away, but she was starting to quake again. Darn Ian. "No hard feelings, right?" Ian pushed on when Amy failed to respond. He braced himself for what he was about to do. It was crazy, but he needed to gain her trust again. And he could only think of one way to do it.

Oh, if his mother knew what he was thinking right now, she'd feed him to the crocodiles. But his mom wasn't here, so he didn't need to worry. Ian needed Amy on his side, because if he wanted to continue with the hunt, he'd need help, though Ian hated to admit it. Allies were absolutely necessary, and Natalie and Isabel had already alienated him from their group. Ian had no intention of losing, however. That was why the two Cahills, Amy and Dan, were important to his success.

Ian reached out and grabbed her hand, pulling her towards him, all the while thinking smugly, _See if this doesn't make you trust me._

She succumbed immediately. Her body melted into his arms, her lips soft against his. Their noses brushed against each other's slightly, but it didn't matter, because Ian was only aware of the fact that this felt so _right._

_Don't get carried away,_ Ian reminded himself in his head. This was just a ploy, to achieve something more useful. But it couldn't hurt to enjoy it…could it?

She hadn't meant to give in so easily. But he'd caught her off guard, and she hadn't found it in her to resist. Deep down, a tiny piece of her screamed, _Stop, Amy, stop!_ The rest of her drowned this out. Suddenly she was hyperaware of everything – their noses brushing, their mouths touching…and mild surprise as she realized that she'd wanted this for a while. In her head she imagined Dan grimacing in disgust, but she pushed it out of her thoughts.

When they broke apart, Ian realized, _It wasn't supposed to last that long._ Neither of them spoke. Amy only stood there, staring, and Ian met her eyes.

For once in his life, Ian Kabra was speechless.


End file.
